February is psychology month.

Psychologists at Ranch Ehrlo work with participants, teams, and the agency as a whole to assist in a variety of clinical initiatives. Most of the psychologists at the Ranch can be found at Ehrlo Counselling Services, the Clinical Assessment and Resources Services team, and within the group homes as clinical caseworkers.

“The Clinical Assessment team wanted to mark psychology month not just to celebrate and create awareness around what psychologists do, but also to shine a broader spotlight on the amazing work that all the clinicians here do. We work to support them, and through that, we all work to help support all the participants here,” said Janna Ellis, who is part of the agency’s Clinical Assessment and Resource Services team.

Psychologists support the agency and participants through offering counselling, completing psychological assessments, consulting, and supporting through supervision and program development. Clinicians at the agency offer a wide variety of services, including case management, crisis response, individual treatment planning, family involvement, supporting families in the family programs, completing training and research on evidence-based practice, branching out to support communities, and training and focus on person centered planning with participants who make Ranch Ehrlo their long term home.

“This is the tip of the iceberg of the amazing work that the various clinicians across the agency do every day here at the Ranch, and the psychologists are humbled to be a part of this team and the passion to support the many participants of our agency,” Janna said.

Psychologists in particular work to alleviate mental distress and improve wellbeing in a variety of settings by providing services including psychotherapy, assessment, diagnosis, consultation, and research of psychological health and problems. They are trained in evidence-based practices and follow a code of ethics that promotes respect and dignity for all people.

“We really just want to help connect and open things up so that people get a better understanding of the many different areas, what’s going on, and how all the pieces fit together,” Janna continued. “Ranch Ehrlo is a big organization and it can be hard for all 800 plus employees to always know each different area and what different people do.”